Sonntag, 7. März 2010

5oo postings on the K-files - Celebration Time & Time for Brumas...

"Remember Brumas? Offspring of Ivy and Mischa, she was born at London Zoo in the distinctly wintry November of 1949 – the first polar bear successfully to be reared in Britain and no matter that, unaccustomed to such arrivals, the keepers for several months wrongly assumed that she was male.

All manner of souvenirs were produced, from soap bars to those Dean’s Rag Books, now worth a small fortune. Zoo visitors increased by a third.

The truth of the matter, however, is that Brumas wasn’t named because of the Arctic conditions but after her keepers, Bruce and Sam.

I was not the only one stumbling over Brumas, take Viktor from he Knutitis Forum, he stumbled over some Spanish lemons. The fact that a polar bear was depicted on the label naming the brand Brumas, got him digging too. Until now he couldn't find out why Spanish lemons were named after a little polar bear who was born 60 years ago. The outpost couldn't help him either, a little village called Bruma in Galicia where oranges and lemons grow doesn't make an explanation ...But who cares, what counts is what Viktor and others found in consequence as material about Brumas, material which I am allowed to use here too...Das heutige Jubiläum nehme ich zum Anlass eine kleine Serie zu starten mit Eisbären, die auch schon vor Knut Schlagzeilen gemacht haben, allen voran Brumas, zu der es mehr postings geben wird, aufgrund der Fülle des Materials nicht alles auf einmal, sondern in Raten....I have become infected with Brumas last year when I learned about her existence by mere accident while doing research on Mercedes, who is considered to be the last UK polar bear living in an UK zoo. It lead to more digging about the situation in the UK, where polar bears in captivity have become more or less history...When it comes to the biographies of the bears, their origin, their offspring, their whereabouts records are usually incomplete and raising more questions than answers. Fortunately this does not apply to Brumas, thanks to her fame as the first successfully reared cub in the UK, her story is well recorded, at least up to a certain extent and especially concerning her first year of upbringing.So, just go back 60 years in time and enjoy her stunning story which will feels familiar when thinking of Knut...

As this is the 500th posting on the K-files, I'll take the occasion with Brumas to start a little serial about polar bears who have made headlines already long before Knut.

Today's posting is just a beginning, there is more to come, due to the extent of material in bits and pieces...Enjoy!

I want to thank here already Viktor, Frans and Dürener 1 who contributed enormously by sharing their material about Brumas, I wouldn't have been able to access all archives or even to buy the rare books about her. So, without them it would have been only half of the fun...Just thank you !

Kommentare:

Anonym
hat gesagt…

Dear Birgit

It's right a phenomenon that amongst all those Knuti- and polar-bear-lovers a lot of people are not only eager to get whatsoever news about the lovable bears - scientifically proven ones, as well as historical and recent ones about various bears in reality, as well as as ferie-tales and stories - but sometimes also "work" on the same topic without knowing something about this fact.

Thanks a lot to you and Viktor for digging out this wonderful mother and child polar bear couple story in London. In the meanwhile I truly love them, Brumas as well as Ivy! I'm very much looking forward to getting more of this "stuff"!Knuti-judi tells at the moment facts and stories about a freed from circus-bear, Willy or Wilhelm, now in the zoo of North Carolina. Beyond "Knut & Giovanna", there are also continually new information, pictures, and collages about "Flocke & Raspi" and "Wilbär & Ewa", and occasionally also about some other bears from about their age. It would be also interesting to know again more about Cuker and Hudson, and .... but unfortunately our time is limited - as well for the authors as for the readers and watchers, isn't it!!?

Who wants to lay hands on the original K-files, all coming in the typical outpost outfit pdf and usually including photos found within the Aussendienstnetz, just click on the file covers, download starts after filling in the 3 letter code.Attention: please click the FREE download option and not Premium as this will cost you then. We apologize for any inconvenience, unfortuantely we can't stop the ads!